Kia ora koutou,

Planning is full steam ahead for the 2023 Wellington Folk Festival. The committee are already working through guest applications – and we have plenty to choose from.

The next major event is the AGM
We have been operating with a full committee in the last year but a few of us are looking to step down this year.  We expect to have 3 or more vacancies on the committee and I know we have some new folks interested in accepting nomination.

We have potential nominees for:

• President – I’ve decided it’s time to make way for new ideas (and reclaim some flexibility in my life).
• 2 other committee members (+myself if the AGM would value my involvement for continuity)

Skills we’re looking for in new committee members include:

• Jan Barnes – our current secretary has expressed a preference to step down so if anyone wishes to pick up that role (minutes, meeting planning, records management) we’d love to hear from you.
• Engagement with the younger music scene – the great stuff that happens outside the “traditional” folk club circuit.
• Practical coordination skills to manage the volunteer and/or contracted teams that look after the festival gate, registrations, cash takings, security; and site hygiene.

Nominees for committee need to agree to accept nomination so if the nominee cannot attend the AGM we will need their agreement to be nominated in writing and in advance. Please send nominations (or enquiries or expressions of interest) to me by replying to this email.

To vote at the meeting you need to have paid the annual membership subs ($1). Subs can be paid on the day at the start of the meeting – Preferably in cash.

To provide a safe and accessible AGM we have again elected to use the Cancer Society offices in Ranchhod Tower, central Wellington. Access is from the Terrace and we’ll make sure someone is there with an access card to let you up to our floor.

The Cancer Society Board room has professional videoconferencing equipment so we can hold the meeting by zoom for those out of town or unable to attend in person.

The formal notice follows…

Notice of Annual General Meeting – Wellington Regional Folk Foundation Inc 

Date:    Sunday, 19 March 2023
Time:    2pm

Where: Cancer Society of New Zealand National Office, L6 – 39 The Terrace, Wellington

or by zoom: Cancer ZOOM Society is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: WRFF Annual General Meeting
Time: Mar 19, 2023 02:00 PM Auckland, Wellington

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87289715277?pwd=YVJvaWJBYXRCVG1seFpJUEFwMzZOUT09

Meeting ID: 872 8971 5277
Passcode: 395553

AGENDA

1. Present
2. Apologies
3. Minutes of the 2022 AGM
4. Matters Arising (not covered elsewhere in the agenda)
5. President’s report
6. 2022 Performance Report including Annual Financial Statements
7. Election of the committee:
   • a. President
     b. Treasurer
     c. Secretary
     d. Committee members (up to 7)
8. Appointment of the Reviewer
9. Setting of the subscription
10. General business

Please note that if you wish to nominate someone for a committee role who is NOT able to be present at the meeting, you will need to bring with you written confirmation (an email will do) of their willingness to stand.

Cheers,

Gerard

If you are, now is the time to let us know.

1) Guest Applications….
We’re looking to build on the success of the 2022 festival and to do that we need a range of great guests who we will seek to draw from all the genres of our folk community.

If you’re keen – please use this application form to apply. We will close applications on February 4th and then review the applicants. From this we can develop a programme and make invitations to successful applicants.
https://form.jotform.com/223181761827863

After two festivals showcasing NZ talent (due to Covid restrictions) we are now open again for overseas applications…. but be aware our homegrown festivals have set a high bar.

2) Committee opportunities at next year’s AGM
Finally – as we start the prep for 2023 – some committee members (including myself as president) have indicated they are ready to step down at the next AGM (in late March) to make way for new blood and ideas. If you have an interest in knowing more about being involved, please contact us at info@wellingtonfolkfestival.org.nz . I or one of the committee members will be happy to share info on our committee and work programme.

If you follow Wellington Folk Festival on Facebook you may have already seen this invitation…. this isn’t a separate survey. Here is a link to our feedback form: https://form.jotform.com/223018420438852  Even if you didn’t come to the festival we’d like to know why. It was great to bring the festival back after the cancellation in 2021. As in 2020, the festival had a great buzz this year. It was so good to reconnect after the covid disruptions. A huge ‘THANK YOU” to everyone involved: performers, audience, vendors, volunteer crew. You are all champions. We’ve also collected a bit of lost property…. See photos below, and on our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Wellyfest/?view_public_for=463248687035307 If you see anything you recognise, or if you don’t have access to these sites, please email! Thanks again from all your committee….. now starting the prep for 2023. Some committee members have indicated they might be thinking about stepping down at the 2023 AGM (in late March) to make way for new blood. If you have an interest in knowing more, please email us at info@wellingtonfolkfestival.org.nz Cheers, Gerard for the Wellington Folk Festival Committee Please get in touch (info@wellingtonfolkfestival.org.nz) if any of the lost property pictured below belongs to you:

We realised that the usual 30 September early bird close fell yesterday (Friday). We thought if you’re wanting to coordinate with family and friends, having another weekend to sort your tickets may be helpful – so we’ll keep early bird pricing open until late Sunday (tomorrow).

Get your tickets here:
https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2022/wellington-folk-festival-2022/wellington

Tickets are selling well and we’re looking forward to a great Labour weekend – catching up with so many of you and sharing some great music and dance

This year’s Dance programme is going to have a great range of styles. However Covids impact on product availability and pricing means despite searching for and pricing improved surfaces we haven’t come up with a way to improve the concrete surface in the Fletcher Hall this year. So please do be prepared to wear cushioned soles in the Fletcher Hall for high impact dance.

Check out the programme draft…There may be some last minute tweaks but you’ll get a good flavour of each day!

Just a reminder – ticket sales are now open for the 2022 festival. Early bird pricing is available until the end of this week. Online sales will continue to be available at the full gate registration prices until the weekend before the festival.

Get your tickets here:
https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2022/wellington-folk-festival-2022/wellington

The ticket prices have been held at the level set in 2021. The festival covers all credit card and ticketing fees so the advertised price is the price you pay.

Information about our guests is under the “2022 Festival Guests” tab.

If you’d like to get involved
Thanks to those of you who have already contacted us about volunteering. Our crew is looking good but we still need helpers for the Housekeeping and Hygiene team – looking after rubbish bin clearance and cleaning the loos and showers

If you work for 6 or more hours during the festival you will earn a full weekend festival ticket (we will refund if you’ve already paid). If you’d like more information about volunteering please reply to this email and I’ll forward to the relevant committee member.

Looking forward to a great Labour weekend!

As promised last week, Tickets are now open for the 2022 festival. Early bird pricing is available until the end of September and online sales will continue to be available until the weekend before the festival.

Get your tickets here:
https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2022/wellington-folk-festival-2022/wellington

The ticket prices have been held at the level set in 2021. As in the past, we will cover all credit card and ticketing fees so the advertised price is the price you pay.

We’ll post some detailed info in the next few weeks. Towards the end of September we should be able to share the detailed programme.

If you’d like to get involved
we have a number of volunteer positions available. Thanks to those of you who have already contacted us about these.

If you work for 6 or more hours before, during or after the festival,  you will earn a full weekend festival ticket. The teams and skills we are needing are:

• First Aid – we need a few people with level 2 first aid skills – preferably with ATP
• Security and registration – checking and selling tickets, cash and EFTPOS handling, venue ticket checks
• Housekeeping and hygiene – rubbish bin clearance and cleaning the loos and showers
• Site setup and breakdown – general furniture shifting, venue and site setup and experienced people with construction site experience to help with stage, sound and lighting rig setup. Training certificates for site safe and working at heights are highly desirable for a few people.

If you’d like more information about any of these opportunities, please send an email to info@wellingtonfolkfestival.org.nz and we will forward to the relevant committee member.

Looking forward to a great Labour weekend.

As previously hinted… all systems are go for the 2022  Wellington Folk Festival.

As of now, all these guests – all from the 2021 plans – have confirmed their availability for the upcoming 2022 festival. We’re excited about the mix brought by this varied lineup of local Kiwi talent and are looking forward to a festival every bit as good as the 2020 event. There is a mix of real tradition with contemporary writers and interpreters of several strands of our indigenous and imported folk traditions.

We’ll post some detailed info over the coming months (and most have web sites or Facebook pages that are linked here).

Who they are	From
Andrew London Duo	Otaki
Bill Hickman Band	Wellington
Butter Wouldn’t Melt	Waikanae
Celtic Ferret	Auckland
Cotton Daisy Backstep	Wellington
Fiddlesticks Band	West Coast
Julian McKean & Chris Priestley	Around NZ
Nigel Parry and friends	Wellington
The Penmans	Hamilton
The Shicka Chickas	Wellington
WAI.TAI	Around NZ
You, Me, Everybody	Around NZ

Then there’s the workshop, youth and dance programmes – these are still WIP but planning is well advanced.

And there’s more to come. Get your breath before the next instalment! Early bird tickets will go on sale very soon. We’ll send another update when our new ticketing system is live.

If you’d like to get involved
we have a number of volunteer positions available. If you work for 6 or more hours before, during or after the festival,  you will earn a full weekend festival ticket. The teams and skills we are needing are:

• First Aid – we need a few people with level 2 first aid skills – preferably with ATP
• Security and registration – checking and selling tickets, cash and EFTPOS handling, venue ticket checks
• Housekeeping and hygiene – rubbish bin clearance and cleaning the loos and showers
• Site setup and breakdown – general furniture shifting, venue and site setup and experienced people with construction site experience to help with stage, sound and lighting rig setup. Training certificates for site safe and working at heights are highly desirable for a few people.

If you’d like more information about any of these opportunities, please send an email to info@wellingtonfolkfestival.org.nz and we’ll forward to the relevant committee member.

We need your help! We are looking for 4 volunteers for various first aid shifts over the 4-day period during Wellyfest. These volunteers must, that’s MUST, have minimum of Level 2 first aid certification or preferably an ATP. For more info or to apply, please email Merlin at merlincym@gmail.com 

Wellyfest 2022 plans are in the works!

Here’s what we’re up to…
The committee has met a couple of times since the AGM and we are well into the planning for 2022.

We’ve reached out to the guests who would have joined us last year if we’d been able to run. We are delighted to let you know that nearly all have confirmed they’re keen to be a part of the 2022 festival. We’re expecting a great and varied weekend of music, song and dance.

As a committee we’re already working on detailed programming. We’ll share some of that with you closer to the fest.

This year’s festival is looking great!

We are now planning for the 2022 Wellington Folk Festival – and, Covid permitting, will hold it for real this year. Most of the invited guests for the 2021 festival have confirmed they’re still keen so planning is well ahead. The line-up will be fabulous as always and we’re really looking forward to sharing more news about this year’s festival in the coming months.

News from the AGM

The AGM was held on 22 February and we can confirm the 2022 Committee is as follows:

President – Gerard Hudson
Secretary – Jan Barnes
Treasurer – Sarah Duckworth
Committee – Kevin Ikin, Don Mackay, Ruth Birnie, Andrew Bicknell, Cara Brasted, Hugh Dingwall

Welcome to the committee Cara and Hugh, and thanks so much for agreeing to be nominated. Thanks for your ongoing support Gerard, Andrew, Don, Jan, Sarah, Kevin and Ruth. 

Thanks so much for your years of support to Jude, Simon and Dusty, who have stepped down.